


The Devil You Know

by Joylee



Category: Inteligence
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-22
Updated: 2011-12-22
Packaged: 2017-10-27 21:01:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/300001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Joylee/pseuds/Joylee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes society mistakes who the bad guy is.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Devil You Know

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Maekala](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maekala/gifts).



Mary applied her make-up in the elevator on the way up. To the mildly disapproving glare of the well dressed middle aged couple who was riding with her. As she left the elevator she overheard the woman say, “I'd at least have expected a hotel of this caliber to have less obvious hookers.”

Seeing as her cover had been pulled together on the fly that boded rather well. She straightened her black lace stockings (acquired at the hotel gift shop along with the hooker red lip stick five minutes ago) and popped open another blouse button, just to be on the safe side, as she knocked on the door of the suite.

“You're late, what...” Reardon blinked as he took in Mary at the door.

Sailing into the room Mary informed him blithely. “Mr. Richman sent a message to the office that he can't make it.”

“You must be Mr. Baker.” She smiled broadly at the other man in the suite, whose eyes, as she had planned, never made it above her neckline. To clue Reardon in she added. “Richman was ever soooo sorry he couldn't make it, Jimmy. He sent the paperwork though. He said you and Mr. Baker could go over things without him.”

Pulling the documents from her handbag she handed them to Baker.

Who, of course, took it as an invitation to get fresh. Reardon, who apparently decided that whatever changes her presence made to the script, it did not involve allowing the American to paw her, promptly intervened and took her off to the other room. “What the hell is going on here?”

“Richman apparently got tipped to our investigation by that contact we suspected he had in the SEC.” Mary explained. “We pulled him in for questioning to keep him from passing the information on to his other conspirators.”

“His other conspirators being the fine gentlemen of the company's board of directors.” Reardon commented.

He had been making subtle digs like that since she had asked him to assist her in working this investigation of securities fraud. Her superiors had taken umbrage. Privately she saw his point. Compared to the amount of damage the 'fine gentleman' they were investigating had caused the country, Jimmy Reardon looked like an upstanding citizen.

Sticking to the point, she went on “And if he does the entire operation is blown. We're on the clock here. If we're going to flip this guy we have to do it now. He's the key to getting the information we need. And if Richman has a chance to get to him we'll lose him.”

“And just how do you propose to get him to turn?” Reardon was looking less pleased by the minute. “Not that after having to listen to him for the last half hour I wouldn't be happy to hand the little shit over to you on general principals, but the plan was we were going to insinuate your forensic accountant in under the guise of my doing due diligence before my bank agreed to bail out their investment company. He's not just going to let us stroll in and start going over their books. Especially since Richman already sold me a slug of toxic mortgages. Even that little idiot's got to know I'm on to them.”

“We're changing the plan.” Mary explained. “Instead of the head of the First Bank of Ireland in the Bahamas, Mr. Baker out there is suddenly going to find himself dealing with Jimmy Reardon, drug king pin and third generation gangster. Who is more than a little pissed off _because_ he finds himself holding worthless mortgage derivatives that Richman and Baker LLC palmed off on him with triple A ratings guarantees. ”

“You want me to _lean_ on him? Since when does the Canadian government need _me_ to lean on somebody? Don't you have guys for that?” Jimmy looked skeptical. “Even I have guys for that. And just how do you fit in to the scenario got up in that outfit?”

“Window dressing. All gangsters need a moll. It will help distract him.”

Reardon snorted. “I bring my lawyer to business meetings - not the talent.”

“I know that, but this guy will have formed his ideas of you based on a combination of The Wire and The Sopranos. Just play along. When your phone rings come into this room to answer it.”

“Oh, great. Not only do you want me to lean on the guy, you want me to do it with God knows who listening in.” Jimmy sighed. “Fine. But I want a favor down the road in addition to the expedition of the licenses for my bank that we already agreed I was getting for doing this. And button up a couple of buttons. If you're supposed to be involved enough in my affairs to have you sit in on a business deal, I wouldn't want you flashing your tits around.”

“Not that they're not great tits.” He added with a glance down and a smirk. “But I don't share.”

Rather glad Kiniski (who she knew she could count on to be discreet about what he heard) was on the other end of wire surveillance duty, Mary complied.

Pouring drinks to take back in to Mr. Baker as cover for their conversation, Jimmy put in. “Oh, and I assume it goes without saying that I get amnesty for anything that goes down in this little farce you're pulling here?”

“I already got a deal for you on both the favor and the amnesty.” As an after thought she added. “Try not to shoot him. I doubt the Crown was thinking of murder charges when they agreed to the deal.”

“You have been busy this evening. And don't worry. I'm not carrying, so probably not an issue.”

Breaking Mr. Baker took substantially less time than Mary anticipated. And less theater. At the least she'd expected to have to pay for some broken furniture.

Instead Reardon went for subtle. Without raising his voice he gave Baker a brief history of the Reardon clan and their interactions with other members of what he referred to as the 'underground economy'. Slowly moving closer to the American as he talked, by the time he got to the end of his history lesson he was well within Mr. Baker's personal space and the guy was visibly sweating.

“Which brings us to the issue of those mortgage derivatives your company sold us, Mr. Baker. I have explained to my investors exactly how you marketed those derivatives to us and the guarantees you made. Given that those mortgages have proven to be complete crap we are looking for satisfaction.

“Now in our line of work when a man makes those sorts of guarantees he is expected back them up. When he fails to do so, we take a very dim view of his business practices and his character in general. So, Mr. Baker, my investors deputized me to approach you and explain their position. They want their money back.” Jimmy leaned in even closer. “And my colleagues have not moved as far into the legitimate market place as I have. They're stuck doing business the old ways. If they don't see reparations from you and Richman _personally_ , and quickly, they'll start by removing body parts.”

“There isn't any money.” Baker quailed. “Between the market losses and what we paid in expenses and bonuses, it's been gone for awhile now.”

“There's never _no_ money.” Reardon growled. “You always make sure you've got a stash to cover business reverses and running money if things go really bad. We'll start by taking that and then look at your less liquid assets.”

“No. I mean it. I've got nothing. I was fully invested in the company. I'm looking at bankruptcy.” The American wailed.

“That is unfortunate.” Reardon somehow turned that phrase into as chilling a threat as Mary had ever heard. “What about Mr. Richman?”

“Uhn, well, he acts like he's still doing okay.” This seemed to be the first time Baker had considered this. “Maybe we should talk to him?”

“Or maybe, and this is pure speculation on my part you understand.” Jimmy's lips thinned. “Him skipping this meeting means he's skipping town and leaving you to hold the bag.”

Baker had clearly not considered that either. And from the look on his face was prepared to believe the worst about his partner. Mary could hardly hope for a better opening. She triple tapped the wire she was wearing with her finger nail. Signaling Kiniski.

Reardon's phone rang. Glancing at it he said, “I need to take this. It appears at least one of my colleagues is getting anxious. Mary, keep our guest entertained.”

She waited until Reardon had closed the door, then dropped into the seat he had vacated. Breathily she told Baker. “Keep your voice down. If Jimmy hears us it'll be more than either of our lives is worth, but I can help you. I'm a cop. I'm undercover to build a case against Reardon, but I'll bet my superiors will be much more interested in what you can tell them about Richman's securities manipulation.”

“There wasn't any manipulation.” Baker denied. “I mean we couldn't foresee things were going to go bad.”

“Reardon clearly thinks otherwise.” Mary pointed out.

“He's wrong. Listen, I can help you make a case against Reardon. I – I've got drugs. I'll testify that he sold them to me.”

He pulled a couple of joints out of his pocket.

Mary did not bother to control her eye-roll. “This is less than an ounce. It's not even a crime to hold it. It'd be your word against Reardon's where you got it and since that is clearly Mexican pot and Reardon deals only in high end BC Bud, we couldn't get the Crown Counsel to give us the time of day. No, if you want me to help you it's going to have to be Richman. Frankly I don't know why you're even hesitating. I mean it looks like he's perfectly willing to let you take the fall with Reardon.”

This finally convinced him. “You'll protect me from Reardon and those gangsters? Give me a new identity? Witness protection?”

This guy watched too many movies, but Mary could work with that. “You'll have to work out the details with the Crown Counsel. But if you give us access to your business records you can probably write your own ticket. Will you do it?”.

“Are you kidding? Reardon's going to kill me! Of course, I'll do it.”

“Hurry you don't have a lot of time.” Mary stepped into the hall and nodded to the waiting Mounties. She was not about to leave Baker on his own and hopefully he was too rattled to wonder how she had gotten her men here so quickly. “These men will make sure you're all right.”

“What about you?”

Now the guy decides to be galant? “I'll tell him you made a break for the door and I couldn't stop you.” Mary assured him.

“Will he buy that?” Baker asked. “Shouldn't I hit you or something so your story looks more plausible?”

Way too many movies. “No I'll be fine. Just _go_.”

Once the door was shut she slumped back unto the couch holding her head in her hands.

“Jesus, he didn't actually hit you did he?” Reardon emerged from the other room. “I didn't come out because I didn't want to screw up your pitch, but if I'd known...”

“No, he didn't hit me.” Mary started to dig through her purse. “It's just been a hellish day. First the entire operation goes sideways and I had only minutes to work out a new plan _and_ get approval from every government department except Fish and Game. I've been running on pure adrenaline.”

Reardon had a glass of water for her before she even got the aspirin out. As she swallowed the pills she had pulled from her purse, he said. “Lean forward."

This was very unprofessional. However, “For a drug kingpin you do a mighty fine back rub.”

“Good to know I have something to fall back on.” Jimmy chuckled. “So is this operation actually going to net anything? Can you really get enough out of him to go anywhere?”

“It's mostly it's his records we're after. He's not going to hold up as a witness against the big fish, but those forensic accountants are standing by to pull his books apart. That should give us what we need.”

“Not nearly as exciting as the way things went down back in Grandda's day.” Reardon commented. “Do you know he actually had the nerve to offer me a hit of that cheap Mexican shit he was carrying?”

Now Mary got to chuckle. “Like offering Mad Dog to a sommelier?”

“Exactly. Speaking of which how about another drink to take the edge off?”

 

After seeing Baker off with the Mounties, Kiniski returned to the room they had used for the stake out to start breaking down the surveillance post. Seeing Spalding had not returned, he picked up his headset to see if she was still debriefing Reardon.

There was no conversation, but in the background he heard a suspiciously rhythmic thumping sound. Apparently he was in for a bit of wait before Ms. Spalding was ready to leave. He made himself comfortable.


End file.
